


Anxious Valentine

by PrimroseBlack



Series: Raven's Recovery and other drabbles [4]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Best Friends, Candy, Child Neglect, Childhood, Childhood Friends, Children, Cute Kids, Cutesy, Elementary School, First Love, Fluff, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Hugs, Ice, Ice Skating, Innocence, Laughter, Love Confessions, M/M, Middle School, School Life, Skating, Sledding, Slice of Life, Snow Angels, Snow Day, Snow and Ice, Unrequited Love, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-03
Updated: 2019-04-03
Packaged: 2020-01-04 07:52:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18339344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrimroseBlack/pseuds/PrimroseBlack
Summary: “I’m not gunna stop being your friend, promise! Besides, that would be a jerk thing to do on Valentine’s Day. I would do it on the day hell freezes over,” Isak grinned.Kosei leaned back, still hiding his face. “You shouldn’t swear, Isak.” He whispered.“Oh, I don’t even know what that means. I just heard my grandpa say it once. It’s kinda funny, isn’t it?”A childhood story about seemingly unrequited love between two boys on a cold, wintery Valentine's Day.





	Anxious Valentine

**Author's Note:**

> A Valentine's Day short story I wrote in high school! Hasn't been edited since then...but it's adorable.

Poor little Kosei didn’t know what to think.   

Here he was, a mere third grader, opening his Pokéball-shaped Valentine’s Day box, fearing that the contents would be less—or _worse_ —than he originally expected. He had even shaken the box (as quietly as possible), and found that there were indeed, a few Valentines stuffed inside. “A few” was more than Kosei expected.

 _What if they’re actually bombs_ , he worried, staring down at the oversized Pokéball. _What if their Moms don’t like me either, and convinced them to kill me off? I don’t want to die on Valentine’s Day. Maybe it’s something worse. Maybe they’re all fakes, and everyone will laugh at me, jeering_ “You actually thought _YOU_ would get Valentines? It’s a day for love—why would _you_ be invited?”   

 _That’s true_ , Kosei thought grimly. _None of the girls have ever had crushes on me_. _But I guess…I have nothing to lose_ …

He opened the Pokéball, hoping to see Pikachu himself fall out, but there were only several Valentines, all with little candies attached. Kosei shakily selected one that seemed to be the least harmless.

**_To: Kosei   From: Linda_ **

The pink card had a lame Valentine’s joke and a cute puppy. _That’s a relief_ , Kosei exhaled deeply, grabbing the next one, which had red candy hearts attached.

**_To: Kosei  From: Ty_ **

He frowned internally at that one; the names had been written in Mom-handwriting.

_Duh. Ty doesn’t like me. He always looks at me weird when I sit alone at recess. His Mom probably made him give one to everyone. If he had a choice, I know he wouldn’t have given me one. He’s probably mad because he thinks I’ll try to start some kind of friendship with him now, and that would be bad for his image._

Kosei went through the others, injuring himself by wondering why he had only received seven Valentines, when there were over twenty-five kids in his class. And none of them were from the lone individual he expected (or hoped) would get him one.

Someone sat down in the empty desk in front of him. Thankfully, he knew it was safe to look-up, because he recognized the white, oversized t-shirt. Isak, Kosei’s only friend, was loudly ripping a hole into his baseball-themed box, since he had forgotten to make a place where he could empty the box, and apparently, had forgotten that he could have just tugged the entrance hole open in order to find his Valentines.

He didn’t say anything. Neither did Kosei.

 _I hope he likes the Reese’s peanut butter cup_ , Kosei thought anxiously, watching his friend dump out twenty-plus Valentines onto his lap. _I gave everyone else smaller candies. I know he only likes those, and nothing else. He’ll probably give the rest to me later. Well, maybe he won’t, even though the opportunity will come up…he might avoid the topic just because he doesn’t want me to have them. Or because he doesn’t want to bestow his kindness on someone as useless as me. Unless he wants to make me his slave._

Isak glanced over at Kosei and grinned that stupid grin of his, shoving the Reese’s peanut butter cup in his face.

“Ha! I knew someone would come through! Thanks Kosei!”

He basically gnawed his way through the wrapper and stuffed the chocolate into his mouth. Kosei tried not to laugh too loudly; he didn’t want to attract the attention of his classmates. He looked back down at the battleground, seeing nothing special; no hidden love notes, no cramped comments, no Valentine different from the rest. _I guess I should be thankful I got any_ , he thought, sneaking a glance upward. _I wonder if Isak gave me one…_   

Kosei picked-up another Valentine while his taller friend investigated a temporary tattoo that had a kitten on it.

**_To: Kosei   From: Nancy_ **

Another silent sigh. Nancy’s mother had spelled his name wrong, and crossed out the entire thing before trying again. _Does Nancy even know who I am? Oh well…candy’s the only thing I eat, so I’ll be well-stocked for at least a day. I’ll just rip the Valentines off and pretend they’re all from Isak_.

Pain shot through his chest at the reminder that he would once again, have to pretend he was liked and wanted.

As little Kosei moved his Pokéball aside, something rolled around inside. His desperate interest was caught. Kosei stopped, looking around. No one was watching. They were all preoccupied with their little social groups. He wouldn’t be embarrassed if he reached in, expecting another Valentine, and came out with nothing. A similar situation happened during the Christmas party, right before Isak moved-in. Kosei never wanted that to happen _ever_ _again_ , so he waited exactly three minutes, just to make sure; Isak turned to him during this time, dropping all of his excess candy on the desk.

“How can you _eat_ this junk?” He questioned. “Don’t you have any meals? _Real_ meals?”

“Candy fills me up.” Kosei said quietly, shrugging.

Isak gave him a beaming laugh, unknowingly making his friend anxious, since the laugh had attracted people’s weary gazes. “I hope it keeps snowing,” He said while standing-up. “Maybe then school will get cancelled and we can build snowmen!”

Despite his innocent, lanky appearance, Isak loved a good adrenaline rush. Kosei, not so much. He had enough adrenaline from everyday life; such as when he walked into the classroom, sat down in his desk, got called on during class, got the answer right or wrong during class, or when he had to cough during class but didn’t want anyone to look or hear him so he just sat there choking on his own throat.

And yet, their friendship, only a month and a half old, was grounded.

That was why Kosei shoved his arm into the box, searching around for the lost Valentine.

_What if I gave Isak that Reese’s and he didn’t get me anything?! Have I been blinded by my only friend? Is this a sign? Isak…isn’t actually my friend? Am I a fool? I was wrong the entire time…_

Horrified beyond reason, Kosei jerked his hand around inside the Pokéball: it brushed against something, making a rustling noise. He froze for only a second. Slowly retracting his hand, as if his very life depended on it, he revealed the final Valentine.

Kosei stared down at the paper.

 

**_Are you a pinch runner? Because you STOLE my heart_.**

_Sorry about the weird pick up line, my Mom picked them out. Here’s a Milky Way for your troubles. Happy ValentinZ Day_

_-Isak_

 

Kosei blinked twice, re-reading the comment several times before slipping-out the special edition, full size, dark chocolate Milky Way bar; it wasn’t coincidence that he had been given his favorite candy.

Isak remembered.

The thought of his only friend recalling that _tiny_ , sidebar detail made Kosei’s spirits soar. His heart sped-up with astonishment. Someone had _remembered_ something about him. _Him_ , _Kosei_ , the most unmemorable kid in the entire school! He silently realized that there had only been one occasion where he mentioned that this specific candy bar was his favorite, over three weeks ago. His anxiety was forgotten. He continued to stare at the candy bar, trying to get a grip on the situation. This cherishing act of their close, often-silent bond overwhelmed his fear of rejection, of humiliation.

Knowing Kosei, that’s saying a lot.

A voice over the intercom interrupted the third-grader’s Valentine’s Day party.

“Due to worsening road conditions, school will be let out in twenty-minutes, at one o’clock. Please keep the students in their classrooms until their parent or guardian arrives.”

* * *

 

Kosei and Isak stomped through the snow while carrying their beat-up Valentine’s boxes; Kosei’s confidence had been boosted significantly, now having his Pokéball stuffed with a combination of his and Isak’s candy. He didn’t _feel_ popular, per say, but just a little bit better about himself. He wanted other people to like him too, not just Isak.

But as they walked, and as Isak demanded Kosei to tell him he had brought them good luck by wishing for it to keep snowing, Kosei didn’t feel an urge to have any more friends.

“Yeah…I guess you did inavertedly cause the snow to make the roads bad.”

Isak cocked an eyebrow at him. “That’s a big word. Where’d you learn that? Never mind, I know what you’ll answer. You should play baseball with me this summer. If you do that, I’ll start reading more books.” He paused, kicking a snow chunk into Kosei’s path. “Hey—you’re the word-expert; what’s the _actual_ definition of love?”

“Love?” Kosei repeated, getting anxious again as he pulled the Pokéball tighter to his chest. He had looked this word up several times before, trying to determine its meaning, but his investigations always ended as failures. “Umm…in the Dictionary it says ‘an intense feeling of deep affection.’ But I think it also means ‘a great interest and pleasure in something.’ I don’t know.”

Kosei looked away from the scene as an attempt to hide; despite the friendly gesture of candy on Valentine’s Day earlier, he felt that Isak would start interrogating him, asking who he had a crush on, tease him relentlessly, maybe even ask if he had ever loved anyone. Kosei didn’t think anyone outside his family loved him. He didn’t understand love. This passiveness, constant confusion, and misunderstanding was how he came to be so isolated, so lonely; after gradually entering into the overwhelming society of school, Kosei became more and more convinced that no one except God could ever love him.

He didn’t understand that this quiet, unsettled behavior was what drove the inexperienced, unsocialized children to create a dominant shadow over-top of his life, preventing him from being bold and showing the world what he had to offer, thus, preventing him from being loved and cherished by anyone.

Isak thought deeply about this definition as his weary friend went silent, watching his feet, being careful for ice patches.

 _Love…what things do I love? Well, I love baseball. I love Reese’s_ , he thought. _That’s pretty much it. Oh, and I love giving Kosei stuff. His reactions are hilarious._

“Love, glove.” Isak said out-loud. “I love my glove. Hey, Kosei; how come we don’t celebrate _things_ we love on Valentine’s Day? How come we only celebrate with people? What if you don’t love anyone? What do you do then?”

Isak didn’t really enjoy Kosei’s obvious distress at being asked something so deep. He reacted that way often, and Isak noticed it almost instantly upon meeting the short boy. He always wondered what was so different about Kosei’s life that made him that much wiser than himself.

“I-I don’t know,” Kosei shrugged through his large winter scarf. His face was still pink from the cold wind. “I think there’s always someone who you love. Like your Mom, or someone.”

“I guess that’s true. But I don’t think I’ve ever given my Mom something on Valentine’s Day. Have you?”

Kosei shook his head, still staring at the ground anxiously. “No,” he mumbled. “Maybe I should, when I get home…”

The boys were quiet for a moment. Silently, they both tried to figure out why there were so many unanswerable questions about love.

 _Even Kosei, who’s super-duper smarty-pants doesn’t have an answer_ , Isak thought, holding his box on top of his head. _Nancy, Linda, and Lacey all gave me special Valentine’s. What does that mean? I don’t remember ever talking to the girls in our class. Kosei was a…what’s the word…“approachable” guy; that’s why on the first day, I joined him at recess, while he was sitting by the wall, making a tiny snow mound with his boots._

 _Why don’t girls love Kosei?_ Isak wondered, glancing down at his little buddy.

Kosei happened to be thinking the same thing. The idea wasn’t as amusing, coming from his mind.

 _How do I answer Isak?_ He thought grimly, gripping his Pokéball tighter and tighter. _He’s the only one who talks to me. Everyone else is afraid to, and even when they do, it’s awkward, and they always rush away. Sometimes I hear them talking about the encounter to their friends. Once I even heard Nancy tell Isak that she thought I was a freak. I ran away before I could hear his response_.

The candy clunked as they walked, reminding Kosei of something.

_But…_

Kosei dared to glance over at Isak, who was already looking at him. He cracked a grin and shoved Kosei’s stocking cap down over his eyes, getting a small smile from the boy. Isak fixed it for him, only to shove it back down once more. That got a giggle out of Kosei.

“You can’t be mean to me, it’s Valentine’s Day.”

“Pf. Love schmuv.”

“That isn’t a word. It can’t be a rhyme if it isn’t a word.”

Despite his playful conversation, Kosei was thinking deeply.

The candy bar. Isak had given him a dark chocolate Milky Way for Valentine’s Day. He apologized for the “pick-up line,” whatever _that_ was, and told him Happy Valentine’s Day. Happy VALENTINE’S day. The day of love. And they were walking home together, like they always did, ever since they met. And he hadn’t teased him about how many candies he had gotten, and he didn’t call him a pig for gladly accepting the ones Isak gave him so graciously.

 _Does that mean…Isak loves me? No no, that can’t be it_ , Kosei shook his head. _We’re opposites. He likes sports, I don’t really know what sports are. He doesn’t like candy, I live off it. More importantly…the other kids don’t avoid him as much as the avoid me. They think he’s cute, or something. Some of them think he’s weird, but not as weird as me. The amount of Valentine’s he received shows that._

Kosei started to feel sick.

_They may not love Isak…but they would rather give him Valentine’s than me. Anyone, as long as it wasn’t me._

“Valentine’s Day is weird,” Isak commented, although his voice was distant to Kosei. “Whoever thought of it must’ve had like, six wives or something. But I _loooove_ the candy part. Don’t you?”

Kosei’s face was hidden. He spoke in a whisper. “You don’t even like candy.”

“Well yeah,” Isak laughed. “But the whole party thing is cool. And you get more candy because I don’t like candy, so it all works out in the end.”

There was something else he wanted to say, but he wasn’t sure how to word it. They were coming-up on a long ice patch.

“I guess we’re kind of doing it right.”

“Doing what right?” Kosei asked even quieter.

“Valentine’s Day,” Isak explained. “You showed me ‘affection’ and ‘great interest in something’ by giving me Reese’s, and I showed you ‘affection’ and ‘great interest’ because you’re my best friend, and I gave you a cool baseball sticker and a Milky Way.” He paused, thinking it over. “That counts as love; right Kosei?”

 

Kosei’s Pokéball box tumbled into the snow.

 

“Kos—?”

Isak stumbled, dropping his own box as Kosei threw his arms around his torso, hugging him urgently. The crying noises were muffled into Isak’s big winter jacket, but he still heard them, and became very concerned.

_What did I say?!_

“You’re my best friend, Isak!” Kosei wailed. “You’re so nice to me, a-and you gave me my favorite candy bar on _Valentine’s_ Day!”

His sobs increased, and the passion, the _years_ of pent-up emotion were right there, at the peak of his cries. Isak was so stunned at how expressive his friend was being that he forgot to hug back.

“I-I know you’ve only been here two months, but you’re my best friend, and I would _cry_ if you stopped being my friend!!! I love you Isak, _please_ don’t stop being my friend, even though it’s Valentine’s Day, and _lots_ of people break-up on Valentine’s Day!” Kosei whimpered aggressively, as if Isak was going to shove him away right there. “I’m sorry I didn’t get a lot of Valentine’s, please don’t stop loving me!!! No one else loves me!!! _Please_ don’t hurt my f-feelings, Isak…p-please don’t…”

Kosei hugged Isak even tighter, and stopped talking, substituting it for sorrowful cries.

Isak was overwhelmed by all the complex phrases, but the point his friend was trying to get across struck him hard; in the mind of a child, things come together in one big moment. Kosei’s came when Isak basically said he loved Kosei in return. Isak’s came when he realized that his only friend didn’t think he had an ‘attraction’ or a ‘intense interest’ in him. Suddenly, everything made sense; his shyness, his passiveness, his anxiety, his stress…Kosei didn’t think anyone loved him. He didn’t even care about romantic love. He flat-out, plainly, simply, did not think _any_ one found _any_ thing about him attractive or interesting.

Kosei didn’t feel loved on Valentine’s Day.

Of course, Isak didn’t use that kind of wording to describe his friend’s anguish; in his childhood moment, he thought within an instant, and realized he needed to rid Kosei’s anxiety.

Isak hugged him back.

“It’s okay, Kosei, I’m not going to hurt your feelings!” He soothed as the boy hyperventilated into his jacket. “I don’t care if you didn’t get that many Valentines. You got mine, that’s all I care about. Mine was the best too, wasn’t it? The dark chocolate, special edition Milky Way?”

Kosei’s sobs calmed a bit. He nodded into the coat.

“I’m not gunna stop being your friend, promise! Besides, that would be a jerk thing to do on Valentine’s Day. I would do it on the day hell freezes over,” Isak grinned.

Kosei leaned back, still hiding his face. “You shouldn’t swear, Isak.” He whispered.

“Oh, I don’t even know what that means. I just heard my grandpa say it once. It’s kinda funny, isn’t it?”

Kosei almost giggled, and looked at the ground as he wiped his tears, the sobs making his body jerk every now and then. The boys stood there for a second, letting the wind whip around them.

Kosei glanced-up at his friend, eyes bloodshot, but clearer than Isak had ever seen. It was like the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders. His tiny frame didn’t seem so…fragile.

“T-Thanks, Isak.” He said sincerely. “You’re the b-best.”

“Yeah, I know.” Isak smiled, ruffling Kosei’s hair through the cap. “And I’m about to be even greater.”

Isak took his jacket off, suddenly, and pulled Kosei towards the ice patch.

“W-What are you doing?”

“Ice skating, duh!”

Kosei watched, both in confusion and fascination, as the taller boy threw his coat down and laid on it, stomach to the ground. Before Kosei could respond, Isak launched himself down the ice patch, barreling across the downward slant in the road. He yelled cheerfully, whooping and hollering the entire length down the slide.

When Isak made it to the bottom, he hopped up, and pointed at Kosei.

“Come on, Ko! It’s a total rush, come on!”

No longer feeling anxious, Kosei laid down his coat, smiled excitedly, and pushed himself down the ice patch.

As his tiny body slid at intense speed, it began to snow.

* * *

 

After going down the ice patch countless times, the boys took their boxes home, slipped into new, dry coats, and met up again in the street. Isak dragged his sled, trying to remember where he had seen that huge hill while looking out the window of the car one day.

Kosei was in a much better mood now, only reverting back to his shy ways a tiny bit. He talked cheerfully, almost to the point where he was pestering Isak about where they were going. It was quite the turn of events; _Kosei_ was usually the one being pestered. He had never spoken loud or long enough to pester someone before.

Still, Isak didn’t feel the slightest bit annoyed. He was actually entertained and overly-excited, now that his friend had lightened-up.

“Here it is, Kosei.”

The boys stood on top of a steep hill. The snow on the ground was still thick from the last snowfall, and the snow falling above was only adding to Isak’s thrill-seeking energy. Kosei, on the other hand, became a little apprehensive. While Isak was crawling into the sled, bouncing and rambling, Kosei stood there, as stiff as a log, contemplating the outcomes of this current predicament.

 _This hill is scary…_ He thought cautiously, starting to sweat. _I think I might throw-up if we gain speed on one of those jumps…Isak probably wouldn’t let me fly out of the sled—not on purpose, at least…but it still might happen. What then? Because of my critical, life-threatening injuries, Isak would vow to never have fun again, and then I would feel horrible. Does that mean I should…act like Isak, and try to find the joy in speeding down an icy mountain at ninety-miles per hour?_

Isak looked up at Kosei and grinned. Kosei didn’t spot the evilness inside that grin; he was too busy panicking, trying to come up with a suitable answer for Isak’s question, which he was sure was about to come.

Before he could even come up with a single word, Isak pulled him down into the sled.

“I-Isak! Wait a—“

“Hold on to the sides!”

Isak launched them down the hill. Kosei only had a split second to feel the falling sensation in his stomach.

Then, they were flying.

Despite its glistening appearance, the snow was rough, sharp, and jerked the sled up and down, left and right. Kosei started screaming from the get-go, and after a particularly harsh bump, Isak joined in. He kept trying to steer, but with Kosei in front of him and the jumpiness of the sled, this simple task suddenly became very difficult to maintain.

The sled gained speed, and the boys suddenly felt as if they were about to start a trail of sparks and fire behind them, like an asteroid. Kosei screamed louder, seeing a snow pile much too high for his liking. Isak saw it as well; his screaming was cut off when he realized how electrifying it would feel to be thrown into the crisp winter air, as if they were the most powerful birds in the world, refusing to be stopped by the cold.

“Isakkkkk!!!” Kosei yelled, heart pounding, head spinning, eyes widened.

“Hold on!!!” Isak cheered.

Kosei latched his fingers into the arms of his best friend, preparing for the worst; and yet…there was a special type of… _anticipation_ bursting through his heart as they reached the curve of the jump. Both boys yelled, captivated, as they flew into the air. They screamed, losing sight of the ground. Their voices were caught by the snow, silencing them immediately. For a long moment, Kosei felt everything stop.

…Amongst his fear and joy…amongst the sharp air and limp feeling as their bodies were lifted inches off of the sled…his thoughts slowed down.

_Is this how Isak feels all the time? For this split second…am I really this free? Can that be true?_

The ground was coming back into sight.

_Is this how Isak wants me to feel, too?_

The sled slammed into the ground; both boys could feel their tailbones shatter (theoretically speaking, in the minds of third graders) on impact, and Kosei would have flown out after the initial bounce, had he not been latched onto Isak for dear life, and had not Isak been doing the same. They weren’t so much afraid of falling off as they were of the adventure coming to an end.

“Owww!” They laughed in pain, only to lose their voices when they realized the sled hadn’t tipped over on its side yet.

Everything started to move even faster.

Only when the snow trail began to vanish did the sled start to lose momentum; Isak had planned on sticking his feet out, once the speed came to a bearable amount where it wouldn’t rip his legs off at the knee, but as he thought up this plan, a large mound of dirt caught them by surprise.

The sled smashed into it, and the boys flew off.

Everything slipped-out from underneath Isak, who found the back of his coat riding upwards, revealing his skin to the sharp sting of the ice within the dirt. He slid for a short second before catching-up to Kosei’s flying body, which was in the process of coming down to earth. Isak thought he was going to hurl from his gut being checked so abruptly, but luckily, Kosei had lost weight in the fall from all the stress-sweating, and the pain wasn’t as severe as Isak expected.

For a long moment, they laid in the snow. Everything in their little bodies was pounding, and the snow was still falling from the sky.

Kosei broke the silence with a giggle.

The boys started laughing and cheering in triumphant joy, all while remaining their limp poses on the ground. Kosei had never felt so exhausted, so stress-free, so happy in his entire life.

“Isak!” He screeched, patting his friend while still laughing. “Let’s go again!”

Isak took a split-second to realize what a rare, wondrous scene he was witnessing before answering with an equally enthusiastic “Okay! Let’s go!”

 

Later that night, after six-hours of making snowmen, the boys finally began to walk home. Kosei reached up his cold little arm and wrapped it around Isak’s shoulder. His friend did the same in return, ignoring his shock and letting jubilant-relief take over. _Kosei’s only ever acted this way once before_ , he thought, listening at his small friend rambled on about all the fun they’d had. _The day after we met each other, when we played at recess, and then played after school. It snowed for the first time of the winter that afternoon. I wonder why this is only the second time he’s had fun with me._

“How many snowmen did we end-up making again?”

“Thirty-two,” Isak answered proudly. “That’s gotta be some kind of world record.”

“Well if it isn’t, we can just pretend,” Kosei agreed, smiling at him with aching cheeks. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed and grinned so much.

Their laughs died-out a little as they began to reflect on their fun, which was now a memory implanted into their brains. They were soaked, head to toe, but only now did they start to realize that. They didn’t know what time it was, but that was the least of their concerns. In fact, the boys didn’t really have any concerns at all.

Well…Kosei might have had a _few_.

In the midst of his reflection, Kosei remembered, or rather, tried to understand, what events had led to him having so much fun. When he recalled how earlier, he had sobbed into Isak’s arms, terrified of being rejected, especially because of what he was doing while asking Isak to continue being his friend, a shiver unrelated to the winter snow went through his body.

He glanced over at Isak, then looked back at the ground.

“Hey Isak?”

“Yeah?”

Kosei hesitated, biting his lip. “Are you…are you only being friends with me…out of pity?”

 _Isak’s_ hesitance made Kosei more anxious than his _own_ hesitance. He waited nervously, thinking a longer amount of time had passed than it actually had. _If it’s taking him this long to answer, it can’t mean anything good for me_.

Finally, Isak looked down at him seriously, and blinked.

“What’s ‘pity’ mean?”

“When you do something for someone just because you feel sorry for them.”

Isak wondered why Kosei didn’t just say that the first time, but answered, none of the less. “No. Why would you think that? I was having just as much fun as you were today.”

Kosei blushed, but tried to disguise it as the cold wind blowing against his cheeks.

“I don’t know…”

“No,” Isak repeated, the idea forming in his mind. “You’re my friend. I like you. And today, on Valentine’s Day, you give people you love more…rec… _recognition_ than usual.” He glanced over at Kosei. “Right?”

Kosei stared at Isak, then nodded eagerly. The spark in his eyes, seldom seen by anyone, suddenly returned.

“Race ya home!”

The boys sprinted as fast as their numb legs could carry them, the sled noisily trailing behind Isak, bouncing off the pavement. Kosei was overwhelmed with fatigued-ecstasy. He didn’t understand what was still holding him upright. Talking to people made him exhausted enough; how was he still able to run after several hours of social interaction with Isak?

He didn’t think too hard about it. They were nearing their houses, using the streetlights as their guide. Their breath was visible in the night. After huffing and puffing for a few minutes, only now falling a little further down their fantasy-tube, back to reality, Kosei and Isak stood straight-up, looking at each other.

Kosei never really liked eye-contact, but he didn’t seem to have an issue with looking into Isak’s eyes. Not that day…not the next…

“Well—I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.” Isak shrugged with a grin.

Instead of answering in that polite, well-meaning way he always did, Kosei surprised his friend by hugging him tightly. Thankfully, he wasn’t crying this time.

“Thanks, Isak! I love you!!! Happy Valentine’s Day!!!” Kosei yelled cheesily.

Isak laughed and hugged him back.

 

“I love YOU, Kosei!!! Happy Valentine’s Day!!!”

**Author's Note:**

> KOSEI I LOVE YOU BE MY CHILD
> 
> Have a great day!  
> Love,  
> Bodhi
> 
> insta, tumblr: baku_bodhi  
> Haikyuu AO3: Lady_Iwaizumi


End file.
